Frozen chips are a staple in British kitchens, but they can often end up soggy and limp when cooked in the oven. A chef has shared the best method for cooking them
Frozen chips are the unsung heroes of British kitchens, always ready in the freezer for a quick and tasty side dish or a simple savoury snack.
It’s much quicker to cook these than making your own chips from scratch. However, one common issue with frozen chips is their tendency to become soggy in the oven.
This is far from ideal when you’re after that crispy, crunchy and golden texture, and there’s one mistake that can result in limp chips without you even realising. According to chef David Nayfield from Che Fico, frozen chips can taste restaurant quality every time you cook them, but it has to be done right.
This means no more overcrowding your oven trays or air fryer baskets, which is the ‘biggest mistake’ you can make when cooking fries at home.
To achieve the perfect crunch, your chips must have enough room to crisp up, and placing too many too close together will just make them steam instead of bake, reports the Express.
It’s also ‘vital’ to pre-heat your appliance before cooking, according to David. Putting them straight into a cold oven or air fryer means they’re likely to end up soggy or unevenly cooked.
A good rule of thumb is heating your appliance up to around 200C before cooking the chips, to get that perfect golden texture.
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And when it comes to the debate of air fryer vs traditional oven for cooking your chips, there’s a clear winner that chefs love.
George Duran, a renowned chef in New York City, claims that popping your chips into the air fryer is akin to ‘giving them a fast-track to crispy heaven’.
Not only is it often speedier than baking them in the oven, but you can also savour those delectable crispy fries much quicker. Plus, it eliminates the risk of injuries from handling hot cooking oil, making it a significantly safer choice as well.
